Henri Leclerc: "We defendied Iranians who were defending very important values"

        

'The right to resist oppression is one of the four fundamental rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that our 1789 revolution acknowledges; the right to resist oppression'English translation of an interview with INTV opposition satellite TV.
Reporter: Following the great victory of the Resistance and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in France in the verdict of the French judiciary to drop charges made against them after a collaboration between the dictatorship ruling Iran and the French government in 2003, we have here the prominent French lawyer Mr. Henri Leclerc to speak briefly about this case:
Q: Mr. Leclerc, you were the lawyer in this case from the very beginning in 2003 and even then you emphasized that this case is groundless and there is no serious evidence. Now that your opinion has been proved right after 11 years, what do you think?
Henry Leclerc: I feel that we wasted a lot of time. The French judiciary wasted a lot of time and effort in arriving at what I suspected from day one; namely that this case is empty. It is utterly empty! The idea was for them to ultimately say that those who are resisting in Iran are terrorists and that their organization, their will to fight, could only end up on charges of terrorism.
I said then that firstly, to resist is a right and secondly that terrorist operations are in nature terrorism, but we have no such thing going on here. It took us a long time to get to this point and without a doubt the reason was that the case had trade and economic reasons behind it rather than political reasons. It was a difficult case, but we got to a point where the judges dropped all the charges.
Q: Given your long experience in important cases in defending the human rights and the rights of nations and peoples, how would you compare the case of the PMOI and the Iranian Resistance with the historical cases that you have worked on?
Henry Leclerc: Of course, I have worked on various cases related to the defense of human rights, including in France and many other countries. However, here, we really had a case that was empty. This meant that at times, what was judged was the act to resist and to protest. These acts are at times difficult and may be violent in confronting another violence that emanates from a tyrannical regime. In the case of the Iranian Resistance the French judge had nothing of the sort; he just assumed things. Of course they did have some charges that were brought up by the mullahs’ regime. In my opinion, if the French foreign minister had not gone to Iran to sign economic pacts and Iran reciprocated by demanding the arrest of the PMOI, such a thing would have never unfolded.
This case had one noble issue in it. We were defending people who themselves were defending very important values and at the same time their acts or the acts they had been charged with were not seriously criticized. There was nothing in this file; nothing! Generally those who are suspected of doing things are not condemned; only the criminals are condemned. Finally, they had to confess to this. I believe that the judges, especially the last judges that we faced, said that it is no longer possible [to continue this file].
I feel that at one point the government became less partial in this case. But of course, this case also fits within international politics. It is clear that the authorities treated this case in an illogical manner. They stated: “In any case, these are dangerous people. We know that they are dangerous. We know a lot. This is a cult. They do not respect individual freedoms.”
But then, you need to provide evidence. However, there was nothing but rumors without any foundation or meaning. I am really happy that the French judiciary reached the point of acknowledging that the PMOI is innocent.
Q: You know that the Iranian regime really exploited this case that was launched in collaboration with a number of organizations in France and with the French government at the time to oppress the dissidents, especially the Ashrafis who were in Camp Ashraf then and later in Camp Liberty. I am sure you have heard now that as soon as the verdict was announced, the Iranian state TV and the media affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards declared that the French judiciary, in coherence withPMOI, has acquitted the members of this grouplet who for years had been charged with terrorism. What do you think about this reaction by the regime and the abuse of this case by the regime against the law?
Henry Leclerc:This is absurd! Of course there is no collaboration between the PMOI and the judges! The French prosecutor judges are very rigid. The decisions they make are sometimes delayed, but the decision was ultimately made in this case. In my opinion, politicians in France today are impartial.
We also need to say that the issue of Iran is part of the intricate geopolitical problems and the ongoing fights in the Middle East. Moreover, we do have a direct intervention by the West… these are all problematic. We really need to have our friends in Camp Liberty under protection. In any case, it is my opinion that the verdict to drop all charges is a very positive parameter. Today, after 11 years of investigation, work and study, we know that those who were prosecuted in this case cannot be condemned for any illegal act; and in reality this includes the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the PMOI.
Q: the people of Iran, especially the Ashrafis, i.e. the residents in Camp Liberty, are now very grateful for your defense in this case, in particular because this was a face-off between the Iranian people and the regime. What is your message to them?
Henry Leclerc:I have been involved in the issue of Iran for many years. I have never been to Iran. But as a defender of human rights, I have been defending Iranian friends since the time of the Shah. I began to defend a number of people and here I had Iranian friends in exile. We did a lot relating to those who had been tortured and killed by the SAVAK. One should say that we all held out great hopes for those who struggled at that time. Regrettably, we saw what happened. After the despicable dictatorship of the shah, another tyranny assumed power; they were the mullahs. We saw some friends who had gone to Iran for the cause of revolution who got killed and are no longer with us. And we saw those who exercise their right to resist. The right to resist oppression is one of the four fundamental rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that our 1789 revolution acknowledges; the right to resist oppression.
I then set out to defend the people here. Afterwards, we constantly faced the problem of residence for the refugees in France. We had the French treatment that included threats, expulsion, withdrawing protection; the reason was always economic relations with Iran. And then we had this terrible case where to start with they detained people in ludicrous conditions in prison because they had nothing against them! We knew that the case was groundless. We knew they had not been arrested for terrorism, but they had been arrested for their behavior that endangered the economic interests of France. We fought this. We fought in front of the French authorities and especially the judges and finally we were heard by the judges.
What I want to say to the Iranian Resistance fighters is that the situation is difficult now. The whole world is a bit worried. We are worried about them too. But I want to tell them first not to abandon the fundamental spirit of human rights: that tyranny should never be accepted. Tyranny can only exist if people accept it. Yes, it does take a long time and people do get killed. There are terrible and difficult moments. But if we don’t resist, tyranny will surely triumph. Therefore, we need to have resistance fighters. This was my first point. Second that the democrats in the world, the defenders of freedom in the world, will always support those who resist. And my last point for them is that although I am pretty old and I set out on this fight when I was young, it is my hope that one day I will go to Iran.